Of all the writers to work on The Avengers,
Dennis Spooner was perhaps most closely allied with the show, or, more
particularly, with Brian Clemens. At a dozen
scripts, he places third behind Clemens and Philip
Levene, and it is noteworthy that he and Clemens together generated all
but three of The New Avengers stories.

Born on the first of December, 1932, in Tottenham, North London, Dennis was the eldest of three children, having two
sisters. He left school at 14 to become a telegram boy for the Post Office;
he later worked in various offices and even played professional football for
Leyton Orient for a time. Always included in Ralph Reader's Gang Shows, this
boy scout eventually got a taste for show business. 1950 bought National
Service and he served with the RAF, eventually joining their "concert
party" whilst stationed in the Suez. Afterwards he returned to office
work where he met and married his wife in 1954; they had three children
during the 60s and 70s.

Soon after marrying he decided to try a
career in show business, and upon meeting Leslie Darbon, began working in a double
act akin to Morecambe and Wise. While they managed to play the
London Palladium for a time when there was a variety show being staged
there, they realized it would not be enough for them to achieve success.
Dennis then wondered if his talent lay in writing rather than performing,
and he wrote a half hour script for Harry Worth—for which he received £5.
Harry screened Dennis' comedy (which went down very well) and asked Dennis
to write more, thus launching his new career.

By the 60s he began submitting scripts for other
programs, such as Coronation Street, which were always
accepted, and while attending the show business functions to which he was
invited, he met future contacts who approached him for contributions.
Gradually becoming known in the industry, he wrote for Bergerac, The
Professionals, Doctor Who, Thunderbirds, Captain
Scarlet, Stingray and The Avengers to name a few, and he
also developed series concepts which led to Randall and Hopkirk, Man
in a Suitcase, The Champions, Department S and Jason
King, amongst others.

Along the way he made great friends with
Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and, in particular, Brian Clemens, with whom he
worked almost exclusively in later years. He was Script Editor for various
series, and had an office at Elstree Studios. During this time he learned
how to play bridge and would often enter tournaments; one day, having no one
to partner him, he wound up playing with Omar Sharif, and then went on to
author a couple of books about bridge. As if this wasn't enough, he occasionally
played football for Showbiz XI when asked.

Producers in America learned of his talents
via The Avengers, and in the early 80s he was invited several times a
year to work in the US on Dempsey and Makepeace scripts, often
staying with Patrick Macnee, with whom he'd
become friends during the filming of his Avengers teleplays.
His most successful creation was The Sting in
the Tail, which is still being shown at times around the world. But he
loved theatre work as well, and his last performance was with the Watford Rep
Company (Brian Clemens, Producer) as President Roosevelt in their production
of Annie.

Dennis died suddenly of a heart attack on
the evening of Saturday, 20 September 1986, eleven months after his mother
had passed away. He was 53. Dennis was a very kind, quiet, generous man,
always able to find something amusing in every situation. His work never
affected him; he always remembered his background and roots. He claimed
that one of the nicest people he ever met was
William Conrad (Cannon)—a "real gentleman" was how Dennis
described him. And it is true what Brian Clemens said of Dennis: he was as happy
talking to a dustman as a Duke.

The BFI has a
bio of Dennis (wonder where they got that photo of him?).